PENSACOLA â€" We may never know if it was a shot or a cross, but either way, it was undeniably well-placed. One thing’s for sure, it was definitely a goal, and oh what a goal it was. Princess Haley’s mind-bender into the upper right corner of the net came with 3:11 to play in the first overtime period, and lifted Florida Southern to a 3-2 win over 2nd-ranked West Florida, the Moccasins’ first win over the Argonauts.
Prior to Sunday, Florida Southern (3-0-1) had lost its first 10 meetings with West Florida and had scored more than one goal only twice. The Argonuats (2-2) are the highest ranked opponent the Mocs have ever beaten, and Haley scored two goals herself in the win, adding to her legacy as a big-game player.
West Florida had four shots in overtime, and all of them were inside the box. Two of them were blocked at close range by Moccasin defenders in a frantic sequence in the 91st minute. Florida Southern had only one, and Haley not only took it from outside the box, she took it from a spot not normally considered prime scoring territory. It didn’t matter. After Kerri-Ann Brown helped the Mocs keep possession in the left corner, Haley sent a high bending shot that looped almost impossibly into the upper right corner of the net. There was no chance to stop it as the Moccasins poured on the field to celebrate one of their biggest wins.
To get that win, Florida Southern had to erase a 2-1 deficit in the second half, and had to do it while getting only three shots in the period. The Mocs got two of them early, then went 25 minutes without one before the Argonauts were called for a foul just outside the penalty box in the 80th minute. Kara Moore took the free kick and ripped it into the net from 20 yards out, tying the game at two with her third goal of the season.
Both teams survived a scare in the final 90 seconds, but the Mocs were stopped by UWF center back Rachel Cutts, and the Argonauts’ chance was denied by Kristen Vollmer. Cutts especially was a force for West Florida, helping limit Florida Southern to only nine shots in the game.
West Florida had the better of it in the early stages of the match, with five shots in the first nine minutes before the Mocs ever came close. One of those was a header by Jodi-Ann Robinson right in front of the net that was saved by Martina Tangen Billing.
On two other occasions during that stretch, the Argonauts were just as close to scoring but had the plays broken up inside the box by Moccasin defenders. One of those came just three minutes into the game when Jordan Stone sent a cross out of the left corner that slipped past two Argonaut forwards before being cleared by Vollmer on the back side of the play. Ashlie Haas later broke up a give-and-go between Noha Saleh and Shakira Duncan.
The Moccasins got their first scoring chance when the Argonauts were whistled for a foul in the 16th minute, setting up a free kick from about 25 yards. Moore hit it low and hard, but goalkeeper Ali Ryan dove to her right to make the save and keep the game scoreless.
As the first half wore on, the Mocs had several other scoring chances and one of those resulted in the first goal of the match in the 32nd minute. Haley did the honors, taking a shot from inside the 6-yard box after a corner kick by Alex Hoover was headed forward by Jessica Giblin. Haley had her back to the goal, but was able to spin around for the shot before Ryan had a chance to make a play on the ball.
In the 37th minute, West Florida tied the game at 1-1, using a free kick just off the end line to do it. Playing it almost like a short corner kick, the Argos got it to Robinson who bounced a shot off the near post. After the ball pin-balled around in front of the net, Robinson got a second shot and put this one in just past a sliding Morgan Sammons.
The Argonauts used a penalty kick by Jordan Stone in the 63rd minute to grab a 2-1 lead, but they couldn’t hold it despite giving up just two shots the rest of the game.
Florida Southern returns to Lakeland for its home opener on Wednesday night when it hosts Eckerd College at 7:00 p.m.
